The Onion Bag: Messi's Coke Demand and Balotelli's Penalty Trauma

Welcome to the Onion Bag, your bi-weekly view of the weird and wonderful stories from world football.

We start off with a bizarre anecdote from former Swedish manager Hans Backe, who claims that Leo Messi once humiliated Pep Guardiola with a can of Coke. Find out more about this tale here.

Paolo Di Canio has thrown his last tantrum as a Sunderland manager, as the Black Cats boss has been relieved of his managerial duties after failing to lift his side from the bottom of the Premier League table.

And it's the end of an era in Serie A, as Mario Balotelli has finally missed a penalty. Yes, the man who never misses from the spot was finally denied in Milan's highly eventful loss to Napoli on Sunday. Is this a sign that the end is upon us? Is the sky going to start falling? Maybe, but you definitely have the time for one more Onion Bag...